Wednesday Training Roundup: Mirosevic, George Recovering

With forecasts for temperatures in the 90s for the rest of the week, the Crew moved the start of
today’s training ahead an hour in an effort to beat the heat.

When it was opened to the media, two notable faces were absent: midfielders Milovan Mirosevic
and Kevan George. However, head coach Robert Warzycha said both are still probable to play in
Saturday’s road match against Chicago.

Mirosevic injured his groin in the team’s 1-1 road draw with San Jose on May 19 and missed the
next two matches before returning and going the full 90 minutes in Saturday’s road draw against New
England. He sat out yesterday’s practice and Warzycha said his hope was that it would be just a
one-day thing.

“He was out there earlier (today),” the coach said. “He was jogging. That’s all he had to do
today and he was on the bike and he’s getting a massage.

As for whether he’s worried about Mirosevic’s injury, Warzycha said, “I’m always worried, but I
hope he’s going to be OK for Saturday.”

George, a rookie, has been thrust into the starting lineup due to injuries as a defensive
midfielder. He has started the team’s last two matches.

“He had some tightness so he went through part of the practice in the beginning and we sent him
to get a massage but he should be OK,” Warzycha said.

The rookie drew some post-match praise from Revolution head coach Jay Heaps on Saturday
night.

“We went more man-on-man to try to free up Benny (Feilhaber) a little higher,” he said. “I
thought their 37, Kevan George, had a pretty solid night. He’s a rookie, he ate up space.”

Defenders Chad Marshall (concussion) and Danny O’Rourke (ankle) both continued their rehab work
on the side of the field and did not take part in drills while practice was open. O’Rourke has
targeted the match against the Fire as his possible return date, but Thursday’s training session
could go a long way toward determining his availability.

For a Saturday match, Thursday is typically predominately a scrimmage-heavy practice with the
coaching staff making final decisions on the starting lineup. If a player is unable to get through
a full Thursday session, he is likely unavailable for Saturday’s match. However, defender Carlos
Mendes was not active during last Thursday’s open practice session but still started against New
England before leaving at halftime with an ankle injury.

Mendes has already been ruled out for Saturday’s match.

As I type this, the Crew's brain trust is meeting to discuss its pursuit of a designated player.
Although Warzycha told me yesterday that he thinks the Crew will be able to bring in a player when
the transfer window opens in a week, it does not sound like the club has a deal lined up with
anyone at the moment.